Chatbot and CRM integrations: why should you combine both tools?

Artificial intelligence and digital tools offer very powerful possibilities to improve the relationship between companies and their customers. Chatbots, virtual assistants that achieve increasingly fluid and natural conversations, in combination with the organization that a CRM can offer, can give very positive results.

Why? Because the Combining chatbots with CRMIt powers automation, improves customer experience, and provides businesses with powerful tools for data-driven decision making. This translates into more effective customer relationship management and increased efficiency across a range of business aspects.

In this article we explain why you should Integrating chatbots and CRMs and what are their benefits. Let's get started!

What is a CRM? 

Before talking about the combination of CRM and chatbotsLet’s see what CRM is. The word comes from the acronym “Customer Relationship Management” in English, which translates into Spanish as “Customer Relationship Management”. CRM is a business approach that seeks to manage and improve customer relationships. To facilitate this process, technological systems and tools are used to help collect, organize and analyze information related to customers. Its main function is to centralize customer information. 

For example, if you have a client who writes to you on WhatsApp and then makes a change through Instagram, it is best to record the changes not in an Excel spreadsheet, but on a centralized platform.

A CRM system typically includes functions for the Contact management, sales tracking, marketing automation, case management and data analyticsAs we said before, the main objective is to centralize information about customers so that companies can better understand their needs, anticipate their demands and provide a more personalized and effective service.

Using CRM systems can benefit businesses in a number of ways, such as improve customer retention, increase sales, facilitate collaboration between teams, and provide a comprehensive view of customer interactions over time.

What are the most used CRMs?

There are numerous CRM solutions on the market, and choosing the most suitable one for a company depends on its specific needs, size and budget. Some of the most widely used and recognized CRMs are:

  • Salesforce: It is one of the most popular and widely used CRMs. It offers a variety of solutions for sales, marketing and customer service management.
  • HubSpotIn addition to being known for its marketing tools, HubSpot also offers a free CRM that includes features for contact management, sales tracking, and marketing automation.
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365: Offers a comprehensive suite of business applications, including a CRM module covering sales, customer service and field operations.
  • Zoho CRM: Provides a comprehensive solution for sales, marketing and customer service management. It is known for its accessibility and versatility.
  • ZendeskThe firm defines itself as “a software company that designs solutions to foster better customer relationships.” It is based on an open and flexible platform that is quick to set up and fully customizable.
  • Oracle CRM: Offers a variety of CRM applications ranging from sales management to customer service, designed to fit the needs of large companies.
  • Pipedrive: It is known for its sales management-focused approach and ease of use. It is especially popular among small and medium-sized businesses.

Benefits of combining CRM with chatbots 

Combining chatbots with CRMs, powered by artificial intelligence, can bring various benefits to businesses. Let's look at some of them:

  • Automation of Interactions: Chatbots allow you to automate responses to common queries, making initial interaction with customers easier. This frees up time for human staff, who can focus on more complex and strategic tasks.
  • Improving Customer Experience: Combining chatbots and CRM can provide faster and more accurate responses to customers based on the information already available about them, thereby improving the overall user experience.
  • Lead Generation: Chatbots can gather valuable customer insights during interactions. This information can be integrated directly into the CRM, making lead generation and target audience segmentation easier.
  • Interaction Tracking: Integrating chatbots with CRMs allows for more effective tracking of customer interactions. Information collected during conversations is automatically logged into the system, giving sales and customer service teams a complete overview of previous interactions.
  • Personalization of Interaction: AI-powered chatbots can personalize interactions based on customer history stored in the CRM. This allows for more relevant responses and recommendations tailored to each customer’s individual needs.
  • Increased operational efficiency: Automating routine tasks using chatbots integrated with CRMs can improve operational efficiency. This includes managing appointments, gathering basic information, and triaging queries, freeing up time for more strategic activities.
  • Predictive Analysis: Artificial intelligence in CRM can analyze data collected from interactions with chatbots to perform predictive analytics. This helps anticipate customer needs and make more informed business decisions.

If your company has a CRM, and you are interested in exploring the potential of combining it with a specialized platform with specific functionalities for managing your contacts in digital channels, we invite you to learn more. WittySuite, our interaction management suite that includes process automation and customer service through chatbots, a multi-agent contact center module to manage conversations from all your digital channels on a single platform, and a mass mailing module. WhatsApp and SMS.